Mother

by Maxim Gorky

And she struck her bosom. “Here the most glorious heavenly sun of human happiness will be kindled, and it will light up the earth forever—the whole of it, and all that live upon it—with the light of love, the love of every man towards all, and towards everything.” The words of forgotten prayers recurred to her mind, inspiring a new faith. She threw them from her heart like sparks. “The children walking along the road of truth and reason carry love to all, and they clothe everything in new skies; they illumine everything with an incorruptible fire issuing from the depths of the soul. Thus, a new life comes into being, born of the children’s love for the entire world; and who will extinguish this love—who? What power is higher than this? Who will subdue it? The earth has brought it forth; and all life desires its victory—all life. Shed rivers of blood, nay, seas of blood, you’ll never extinguish it.”